As I mentioned in My Setup for Soft Boot Snowboard Carving, I use directional setup for snowboard carving. I want to tell you about my personal reasons behind this.
There is a lot of pressure around to ride duck footed stance for everything. That never appealed to me. If you claim that something is good for everything there must be compromises along the way.
One of the things that I find crucial when carving is balance. Balancing on the edge during the turn is what carving is basically all about. It is a dynamic balance (a lot of changing forces all the time) but it still is a balancing act. It’s a bit like walking the tightrope or playing on the slackline.
So I would like, when carving, to have the most possible amount of balance potential while carving.
Here’s a short video of me balancing on a slackline:
Having the advantage of hands on either side of the board and the spare balance that gives me is the main reason why I choose directional setup for carving.